The comparison with male pensions find women’s savings are dwarfed, with men’s pensions average around £75,000. It was also found that men are ‘more likely to manage their own pensions’ than women.

Independent research conducted on behalf of Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management on gender and the wealth gap. Nearly a third of women were found to have pensions below £25,000 and only one in 10 women have a pension exceeding £100,000, whole this is true for nearly a third of men.

Overall, just a third of adults are confident that they will retire comfortably, according to the research and there is a general lack of awareness about the value of a pension among a third of women surveyed. This is something Handelsbanken have claimed ‘could prove detrimental to their ability to make informed decisions about their retirement savings’.

The research found that overall, women are less likely to have pension savings of any kind. Just 71% of women over the age of 40 hold a pension pot, versus 83% of men. This does improve among younger age groups, however, with 80% of women in their 30s having a pension, compared to 82% men – suggesting we may be seeing progress among the younger generations.

The gender disparity unsurprisingly persists with confidence about stability during retirement, with 38% of men expressing confidence in their future, compared to only 27% of women. Lack of awareness may play a role in this, with a quarter of people overall stating that they do not feel their employer is helpful in explaining their workplace pension and post-retirement planning.

The research also highlighted who tends to be in charge of managing personal pensions. The largest share of respondents (38%) reported that their workplace managed their pensions, followed by those who oversee it themselves (28%). Men are more likely to manage their pensions independently compared to women (33% versus 23%).

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